Hidden Love
by Andy Depp Ackles
Summary: Max decides to take a chance on love. She meets a stranger who seems to be her match in every way at a masquerade ball.
1. First sight

Hidden love

RATING: K+ for now.

A/N: This is AU and it takes place after 'Harbor Lights' but before Max runs into the 'Love In Vein' vampires.

I didn't reveal who the second character was in the summary because it would defeat the point of this chapter so be patient.

Chapter 1 -Love is blind

Max slammed her locker shut only to notice a flyer taped to it. She frowned as she looked at the notice. It was an invitation:

'Dear Jam Pony messengers:

You are invited along with the youth of Seattle to attend a masquerade ball. The City Council realizes the youth's potential and wishes to include you in a formal occasion for all ages and classes. The use of masquerade masks is an incentive for communication between all different types of people making rank and title trivial.

The Ball is the first of a three part event in which you are to wear a disguise of sorts. This disguise is not to be removed until the end of the final event in which case you may reveal your name. This is to ensure that people make new acquaintances from different ethnic or social areas throughout Seattle.

This three part event is to unite the population of Seattle in times of post-pulse segregation and poverty.

The second event will be a nightclub party at Trinity Nightclub which connects with the youth. This will be held a few days after the Ball.

The third event will be held in Bellevue Botanical gardens. This will take place at night and will be extremely secure due to crime related reasons.

More information will be revealed in succession of each event.

This is an invitation from your City Council and is free of charge. There is no entry fee for each event. The only necessary items are a mask and formal attire in line with each occasion.

These occasions are politician and celebrity endorsed and many public figures are to join in the festivity.

Join us on the night of the fifth at Century Ballroom. With the largest dance floor in Seattle (2000 square feet) in addition to a full bar it is sure to be a memorable night.'

Address:

915 E Pine

Seattle WA 98122

Max finished speed reading through the flyer as OC came over with another one in her hands. Max held up the piece of paper. "What's this?" She asked Original Cindy.

"I don' know, but it sounds like fun. Might give me a chance to meet some sweet dolla holla rich girl." OC imagined, smiling at the thought.

Max laughed at her expression. Then her beeper began to sound. She looked at the number flashing. "It's Logan." Max frowned.

"You gonna call him back?" OC asked.

"I don't know if I should. It's been a week since the Harbor lights hospital thing. I'm beginning to think I should just leave him alone and spare him the drama that is my life." Max moped.

"He wants to talk to you Max. Which means he still don't care 'bout no virus. Now you know you gon' hafta come correc' with him and this is the fifth time he's paged you."

"I guess."

Max walked over to the payphone. Alec was using it for his own personal agenda once again. Max put her finger on the receiver, effectively ending that call. Alec turned and glared at Max. This was the third time she'd done that.

"You know," Alec started moving out of Max's way. "this payphone is for use of the staff of Jam Pony." Alec stated. Max only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Which includes me." He finished.

"You have a cell phone." Max said simply and turned towards the phone to start dialing Logan's number.

Alec clenched his jaw as he let Max's bluntness slide.

Max listened to the engaged phone-line. 'Must be phoning someone else.' Max thought. She decided not to worry about it and waited until lunchtime to stop by Logan's place.

As she walked in the door she heard Asha talking to Logan. 'Great. You choose the best times to stop and chat don't you Max.' She thought to herself. Max thought about bailing out now before they knew she was there but then she heard Asha talking to Logan about her. Max began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Why didn't you ask Max?" Asha asked Logan.

"I've been trying to get hold of her all morning. She's probably busy with something."

Max noticed an irritation in his voice. She began to feel riled up herself.

"I'm sure she has a good reason Logan." Asha replied.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So are you going to that Ball?" Asha asked sounding more enthusiastic than before.

"What Ball?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed." Asha sounded shocked.

"Noticed what?" Logan had no idea what she was talking about.

"The Ball? The reason that there are posters and flyers all over Seattle? The Excitement on the streets? It's on the news and everything."

"Oh, yeah, the City Council events."

"Well, are you going?" Asha got to her point.

"I don't know yet. I want to get this eyes only job done before I can even think of a party."

"The first one's a ball." Asha corrected him.

"That should be nice."

Max decided to stop eavesdropping and make an entrance. She walked into Logan's study. "Hey. Oh, hey Asha." She said pretending to be surprised at the tall girl's presence.

"Hey, Max." Asha said.

Logan briefly turned away from his computer to look at Max. "Hey."

Max smiled as she said: "You paged?"

Logan turned back towards his computer. "Yeah, but it's alright now."

"Did you need help with anything?"

"Don't worry I called Asha to help."

Max felt she had worn out her welcome. "Alright. If you need anything-"

"Sure." Logan cut her off.

"See ya." Max said leaving the apartment. She was angry that Logan didn't need her help anymore but she also felt guilty for not being there to help him earlier. As Max rode her bike back to Jam Pony she went over the scene she had just encountered over and over in her head. Replaying the scene and every single word. She wondered why Asha had to be there. Always messing things up. Max realized that it wasn't Asha's fault after all. She was just a regular girl. 'Perfect for Logan.' Max thought masochistically. It was Max who was always messing with him. Putting him in life-threatening situations one after the other.

Max wasn't paying attention to the road in front of her because she was so lost in thought. When she reached the entrance of Jam Pony, she got off her bike in a haze. She walked in with her bike, eyes glazed over, and bumped right into Rafer making him stumble back a few paces as Max only flinched back an inch (the cause of transgenic sturdiness). As Max was suddenly brought out of her thoughts she was ready to rip the poor person who bumped into her to shreds but then she noticed who it was.

"Max!" Rafer said in his usual cute juvenile way.

"Rafer?" Max said not expecting to run into him. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you…

A few meters away Sketchy and Alec leaned against the dispatcher's desk. Sketchy tried as hard as he could to listen in on Max's conversation as Alec heard every single word clearly. "Who's that?" Alec asked.

"Rafer. He's a cool guy." Sketchy answered.

"How's he know Max?" Alec asked putting a package into his backpack.

"About a couple months ago they were getting kinda close." Sketchy looked at Alec with his eyebrows raised in an insinuating way.

Alec began to grin. "Really?" He said only then trying to listen to Max's conversation with Rafer.

"Why do you want to go with me?" Max asked curious and slightly flattered.

"Incase you haven't noticed Max, you're an amazing girl. Any guy would want to go with you." Rafer said.

Max didn't blush but any normal girl would have. She smiled at him. "Thanks Rafer, but I'm not sure that I'm even going."

"If you change your mind-"

"I'll call you." Max finished for him.

"Great!" Rafer said and then turned to wave goodbye to Sketchy. He hoped that Max would seriously think about it. Then he left Jam Pony to get back to the hospital. He was already late for his paramedic shift.

Max walked back to her locker where OC was talking to Scott. She ended her conversation with him when she saw Max coming with a sad expression on her face.

"You went to see him?" OC expected.

"Yeah. I've really screwed up again." Max said as her eyes reflected her deject mood.

OC tried to find a way to cheer up her best friend. "Hey, was that Rafer?"

"Yeah." Max said temporarily distracted.

"What'd he want?"

"He asked me to the Ball." Max smiled.

"So whad'ja say?"

"Said I'd think about it." Max admitted.

"You are goin' to that dance with hot boy."

"You know what, you're right. I gotta get off my ass and do something fun." Max realized.

"Now you're talkin' Boo." OC smiled.

"When's this ball anyway?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Good thing we have the whole of tomorrow off then." Max and OC laughed as they walked to the dispatcher's desk where Sketchy and Alec were still talking.

"Ladies." Sketchy said as they approached.

"You goin' to the ball Sketch?" Max asked.

"Of course. The Sketchmeister would never pass up an opportunity for a room full of beautiful women who want to meet new people." Sketchy could only imagine the possibilities. "Wonder what sort of mask I should wear." He thought aloud.

Max remembered that the flyer had said that a disguise was necessary. She also began to wonder about her mask and ball gown. "You're not going are you?" Max asked Alec with an expression that was obviously holding up hopes for his absence.

"And miss your date with Rafe?" He said getting ready to escape. "Now why would I do that?" Alec smirked and added quickly before Max had the chance to hurt him: "He's lucky Max, I mean; you are an 'amazing girl'." Alec said repeating Rafer's words so that Max would know he had heard her conversation. He dodged Max's slap and then got out of Jam Pony before she could come after him.

"Max scowled at the thought of Alec being there to mock her. Maybe she could avoid him in her disguise then. Max brightened at the thought. She also realized that even if Logan went he wouldn't be able to find her if she wore a good enough disguise. That would save her an awkward conversation.

The next morning Max and OC started preparing for that evening. Max only realized then that she didn't have a decent dress to wear. As Max sat on the couch with OC manicuring her nails she formulated a plan. "We should stop by sector 9." Max remarked out of nowhere.

"Why?" OC asked.

"For some nice dresses. We deserve it." Max said nodding to herself.

"Incase you haven't noticed, we ain't got stacks'a cash just lyin' around. And I can't pay for no fancy-ass dress on minimum wage. Anyway you have that fine dress that you wore to that flat-ass weddin' with Logan."

Max shook her head. "It reminds me too much of him." Max looked at OC with a pained expression. "And if he goes he'll know it's me right away if I'm in that dress."

Original Cindy nodded, understanding her. "Aiight. But I don'know what you're gonna find for our salary range." OC commented.

"We'll **borrow** two dresses." Max shrugged.

"You gon' steal a dress in broad daylight?" OC's eyebrows rose.

"Borrow not steal. Two dresses, one for each of us. And it **can** be done." Max corrected adding the last part with a mischievous smile.

Max and Original Cindy had returned to the shop that Max had once looked for a dress for a wedding in. They each picked a dress that they liked and then they left. OC waited in an alleyway for Max to appear with the dresses. They got back home a few hours before the ball and started getting ready. For once in Max's life she took her time and embraced her inner-girl. She and OC had really gone to town with the disguise thing. Max had managed to score a sweet deal for a blonde wig. It even felt like it was made from real hair. Their masks were also as beautiful as their dresses. Max had already called Rafer that morning for him to meet her there. OC had a date with a girl she'd met at Crash the week before and everything was set.

When Max arrived she saw that the place was absolutely crowded. TV cameras and reporters as well as tons of people taking pictures. The entrance had a stretch of carpet before it that people walked down with their respective partners. Max looked around for Rafer only becoming slightly distressed as she couldn't find him. She would have to walk the walk of shame without a partner.

"Let's get this over with." Max muttered under her breath. Then she felt a hand slide around her waist making her smile. She walked along the carpet with Rafer. She heard some people surrounding the entrance catch their breaths. Max noticed that more than a few people were staring at them. She turned to smile at Rafer only to get a shock that the person who held her waist wasn't Rafer. She couldn't be exactly sure because the top half of his face was covered with a beautiful gilded mask. He stared down at her with a smile. Max hadn't been too concerned with walking down alone. She was naturally like that but she would have liked to avoid it none the less. Max couldn't be mad at him for quite literally saving her from humiliation. As she stared up at the tall man she studied his face. He looked young. As young as her. And he had an angular jaw and nose. The lower half of his face looked nothing like Rafer's. Max was almost positive about that.

They entered into a beautiful, grand ballroom. Its ceiling was extremely high and a crystal chandelier hung over the exact centre of the 2000 square foot room. There was a live orchestra playing beautiful music that echoed throughout the hall. Max had a random thought of everyone in Crash trying to dance to this music. She couldn't quite picture it.

Max turned to face her companion. He smiled at her again and leaned his face next to her ear to whisper: "You're welcome." And then he disappeared into the crowd.

Max wondered how he could have just disappeared like that. Especially with her feline eyesight.

She tried to quell the forlorn feeling that she had due to his absence.

A/N: Let me know who you guys think it is. The next few chapters are already finished and I'm almost finished with the whole story. I'm actually supposed to be finishing my other story but I spent two weeks slaving over this (not in a bad way I really like this story). So until I have a good amount of reviews I'm not uploading any more chapters.


	2. Hold on to you

Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned it soooo much! But I do notL

A/N: All of you guys were right! Except for Ben, but you were really close. How could this not be an MA story? Even if it was Ben as long as it's JA JA! They belong together! But I just prefer Alec, personally. Never liked Logan much. But I'm not a Logan h8ter and his character is supposed to be a good guy (even if I don't like how Michael Weatherly acted) it wasn't Logan's fault that a mean actor played him.

Anyway, initially I was going to wait for 10 reviews but after the review I saw today I just can't keep this chapter from being uploaded.

And please don't take notice of the fact that in any other situation, Max would probably know who it was straight away (eidetic memory and all) but if she could in this story then it would be over before it started so I'm calling on a CREATIVE LICENSE right about now.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2 -Hold on to you

Alec arrived at the ball and walked towards the entrance. He saw people with their dates each entering one at a time. There was a stretch of carpet leading from the road to the entrance and the large sidewalk was extremely crowded. Alec scoped around for his date and then he noticed a beautiful blonde girl in a long flowing emerald green dress. Alec couldn't see her face because she wore an elegant silver mask that covered most of it and her hair was pinned up messily making loose wavy locks fall along the side of her face. He could see from the way she held her shoulders that she was distressed about something. He walked closer almost drawn toward her somehow. Then he heard her mutter something in a strangely familiar voice: "Let's get this over with."

Alec realized that she was going to walk down the pathway to the entrance alone. He rushed to her side immediately. He would sneak back outside so that his date wouldn't have to walk in alone either. She didn't notice that Alec was a complete stranger and simply sighed in relief. Alec noticed that people were staring at them and when the girl noticed she smiled up at him. Alec saw the slight shock on her face but then she hid it well for the onlookers. As she studied his face Alec studied hers. She was beautiful. Even with the mask hiding half of her face he could see that. Her eyes seemed so familiar as well. As they entered the large dancing hall Alec needed to get back outside for his date. She turned back to him and he had a brief argument with himself over whether or not to forget about the girl outside that he'd promised to accompany. 'The sooner you get back to your date, the sooner you can come back inside to be with her.' Alec thought to himself. Not quite sure that she was actually going to thank him he murmured next to her ear: "You're welcome."

With that he blurred out of sight as fast as possible through the crowd to get back to her.

Max decided to forget about the guy in the Angel mask and look for someone she actually knew. It proved to be harder than she imagined but eventually Max spotted OC.

Once Alec had found his date they walked through the entrance together and as soon as Alec was back in the ballroom he began to scope the room. He had hoped that the mystery girl would wait for him where he had left her however his wish was not granted.

Alec tried not to alert his date that he was looking for someone else as he surreptitiously scouted the room for the gorgeous girl.

Max and OC walked to a table that had glasses of champagne on it. Original Cindy took one and offered Max one. Max shook her head. Alcohol was useless to her. Especially at this moment. Max looked around the crowd again. Hundreds of couples danced on the polished floors of the ballroom. The more experienced dancers in the middle and the people who didn't know how to waltz to save their lives remained on the outskirts of the room. Max wondered if she would ever find Rafer in this crowd.

"Did he tell you what he was goin' to wear?" OC asked Max.

"He said a black tux. Which means almost every guy in here." Max said waving her hand in the direction of everyone on the dance floor.

Max decided to go and look for him in the middle of the hall. She made her way over to the centre of the dance floor as people were packed tightly together all dancing beautifully yet Max could easily pick out all the mistakes they were making in each type of dance that graced the floor. She looked around not seeing anyone familiar. She tried to look for black hair but lots of men had black hair. Then an announcement sounded echoing throughout the hall. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are glad to welcome you to the first event in this Nation builder of sorts. We appreciate your support for a better Seattle and now that most are here we may commence with the evening. Now I'd like everyone to stop dancing and find a different partner. This is what we mean when we mentioned that we are encouraging different people to come together. So grab a partner and enjoy the evening." The man ended as everyone searched for another dance partner. Max was still looking for Rafer. She didn't take notice of the guys asking to be her partner as she walked past. Then she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the perfect stranger that had rescued her outside standing right in front of her with his hand out beckoning for her to dance with him. 'What the hell.' Max thought placing her hand in his. She figured that she would never find Rafer in this massive crowd.

Alec had been looking everywhere for the girl. He danced with his date until the announcement to switch partners sounded. He took it as a sign to find the girl. He searched desperately surprised at himself for chasing after a girl he had just met -scratch that- a girl he hadn't even heard one word from. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was needed and he frankly couldn't comprehend not seeing her again. Just as he reached the middle of the hall, he saw her. Standing directly underneath the chandelier. She was searching for someone again. Then she looked at him and froze.

Alec walked up to her with his hand outstretched. He hoped that she would accept him to be her new partner for the evening. He noticed her hesitation and then her lean frame relaxed and she placed her hand in his.

As soon as Max gave Alec her hand he pulled her towards him. Max didn't resist which was strange for her. The people around all began to waltz to the new piece of music played by the orchestra. Max and Alec followed suit. As they danced they put professional dancers to shame, not missing one step or misjudging each other's movements in any way. They matched in every way possible. Each one surprised by the other. Max had never met someone who could match her tempo perfectly before, but then again; she hadn't waltzed with many people before.

Manticore hadn't taught them to dance; yet dancing came naturally to people who had enough feline stealth and gracefulness to jump from a two storey building and still land silently on the balls of their feet.

The music changed after a little while and Alec decided to change the style of dancing as well. They moved slower than before. Alec twirled the beauty in the emerald-green dress and then he placed his hand on the small of her back to support her while she leaned backwards. Max let the soothing music relax her completely as she let the stranger bend her backwards, turning her world quite literally upside down for a second. In that second Max for the first time truly forgot all of her worries. Not letting anything stand between her and the golden-masked angel. As he raised her up, pulling her back towards him, she looked at him with a new openness in her eyes. She thought of the theme of the evening:

Meeting new people and forming new relationships. Max thought back to Logan. She wondered where he was. Then Max told herself that things with Logan were too hard for her to handle anymore. She looked at the beautiful man that held her at that moment. He didn't know her. Didn't have the chance to judge her. Where she came from, what she had done in her past, what was sure to come to her in the future -it didn't matter to him. Max decided that she would just let go and let things happen.

The music slowed once again and the lights dimmed infinitesimally making the golden room shine slightly darker. Every partner began to slow dance. Alec and Max remained in the same position as before only slightly closer together now. Alec remained supporting her arm as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Her right hand in his left. They finally had a chance to talk to one another.

"Should I be the first to introduce myself?" Alec asked, smirking slightly.

"That's against the rules, remember?" Max smiled and tilted her head to the side. The smirk on his face stirring some unknown emotion within her.

"Alright. So what do I call you?"

"You can use your imagination."

"Juliet?" Alec asked awaiting her approval.

Max grinned. "And I suppose that would make you Romeo?"

"Precisely." Alec smiled back at her.

Max turned curious. "Why did you help me out outside?"

"Unless you were just tryin' to score a date." Max teased.

"I couldn't let a beautiful girl like you walk in all by yourself." Alec explained.

"So you just left your date out there?"

"Of course not. Why do you think I left you in such a rush? I needed to find her, walk her in and then search for the most beautiful woman here."

Max looked into his green eyes. A slight blush rising in her cheeks. She was shocked at herself. Not many guys had ever been able to make her blush.

Alec noticed her temperature rise. He couldn't help but feel satisfied by the fact. However he did notice that she was already extremely hot to begin with (and not just hot in the sense of desirability). He had wondered if she was getting a cold.

"I guess you found me."

"What about you. Decide to ditch your date or something?"

"I was actually looking for him when you found me." Max said matter-of-factly.

"I don't suppose he'd mind if I stole you for the evening would he?"

"I think he might." Max said nodding her head.

"Well then I guess the question is whether **you** mind?" Alec asked more directly.

Max thought it over for a second. She liked Rafer. He was a nice guy but this whole event was for another purpose. Getting to know someone else.

Max shook her head. "I don't mind. I thought we were supposed to get to know each other?" Max queried.

"Do you wanna go somewhere to talk?" Alec asked. He was already intrigued by this girl. He wanted to know more about her.

"Do you think **your** date would mind if I stole you?" Max asked.

"Don't worry. She's already found some other guy by now."

"Alright. I think I know where we could go to get away from the crowd." Max said taking Alec's hand.

Max and Alec found a stairwell leading to the roof. Once they got there Alec wondered what normal girl would ever choose a rundown rooftop over a ball with champagne. He already liked her choice. She was different. He could tell. He watched as the blonde walked over to the edge of the averagely tall building. He ticked that off as another thing that made her different. He sat next to her on the ledge. "Aren't you afraid of heights?" Alec asked, puzzled by her complete calmness while she could easily fall from the narrow ledge to her death.

"No." Max shook her head. She suddenly wondered if maybe she had gone too far. "You're not, are you?" Max asked looking at Alec.

Alec was ashamed that she had even thought that of him. "No!" He said shaking his head vehemently.

For a few hours Alec and Max sat on the edge of the roof looking over the city. Alec had offered Max his jacket when he remembered her temperature and hadn't wanted her to get sick from the cold air out on the roof.

"Do you have any family?" Max asked after a few hours.

"No, they died when I was young." Alec said without any real emotion.

"I'm sorry." Max said.

"Do you?"

Max shook her head. Alec gave her a small, sad, understanding smile.

Max returned the smile to the beautiful man who seemed more and more boyish and innocent the more she talked to him. She felt herself open up with him about things that she had never told anyone before.

"Are you dating anyone?" Alec eventually asked the question that had been bugging him. He expected that she would be. No one like her would ever be single for long.

"It's complicated." She told him not knowing how to explain.

Alec nodded and prompted her to carry on talking. "You can tell me." He said mentally willing her to trust him.

Max tried to think of a way to explain her and Logan. "I've known this guy for a couple years now. We started off just working together at first and then we became friends. We both developed feelings for one another but we danced around each other for a year. Then as soon as we realized that we loved each other I had to move away." Max said trying to be as truthful as possible. "So you haven't seen him since?" The stranger asked Max. She shook her head. "Then I returned and when I did we both still felt the same way for each other. We had always been worlds apart but we understood each other somehow and I think the fact that he understands me is a big part of the relationship." The man who was more boyish looked disappointed. "You're still with him." He stated, not needing to ask her. Max noticed his disappointment. "But every time we try to be together it's like it's not supposed to be or something." Max's shoulders slumped. "I keep hurting him and pushing him away is the only option I have left."

Alec suddenly realized that this girl was on the rebound. She needed someone who could distract her from her boyfriend. Alec felt slightly used but didn't let it stand in his way. He vowed to try his hardest to form a relationship with this girl. If it was the last thing he did. He could feel that she was different. "Did this guy happen to be the same guy that you ditched outside?" Alec smirked.

Max acted shocked. "Correction. The guy you made me ditch outside. And no. We were never dating."

Alec smiled at that.

"Are you goin' out with anyone?" Max asked.

"No." Alec said, shaking his head. He decided to tell her the truth since she had been honest with him. "See, in my line of work it can get a little too dangerous for anyone to get close to me." He said planning to leave it at that.

Max knew that she could handle danger. Probably more so than the guy sitting next to her. She was fascinated that this young boy had already been wise enough to know the risk of loved ones in danger. Although she knew she couldn't trust everything he said (he could just be a poser who liked to attract women with the whole dangerous, lonely life speech) but Max saw honesty in his eyes. Max nodded at him.

She realized how true the saying that strangers were good listeners was. As she opened up to him about a lot of half-truths, obviously not letting him in on the fact that she was a transgenic or anything like that but she did tell him about how cut off she felt sometimes. And he had apparently shared her feelings. Max wondered if he was just playing with her. She couldn't believe that there was someone so much like her. A human so much like her. What Max didn't know was that Alec was having the same doubts about the girl in the silver mask. He was absolutely amazed that he was talking to such a deep person. He usually never had conversations like this with anyone before, least of all a woman. Throughout the night they spoke not noticing the time passing by. Each transgenic oblivious to the other as they inched closer to one another on the narrow ledge of the roof.

"Are we going to take our masks off anytime?" Max eventually asked.

"I thought you wanted to play by the rules Juliet." Alec reminded her.

Max nodded. "Alright. We'll take our masks off on the final night." Max suddenly sat up straight, realizing something. "You are coming to the other two events?" Max asked not hiding her anxiety at the thought of never seeing him again.

Alec was extremely happy that she wanted to see him again. His face kit up in a smile as he said: "And never see you again? Now why would I do that?"

Just then Max had the strangest feeling that she recognized something about the boy who had grabbed and held her attention for the entire night. "I feel like I've known you forever." Max said taking Alec off guard once again by their similar thoughts.

"I've been thinking the exact same thing." Alec replied.

They were by now sitting right next to each other, sides touching, after nine hours of talking. Alec looked down at Max's face. Max stared up at him.

When she looked into his eyes he recognized something. Something that he couldn't put his finger on yet but it continued to obtrude on the edge of his mind.

The only realized how long it had been when the sun began to rise on the Seattle horizon. They both jerked their heads away from one another as they looked at the sunrise. Max stood up suddenly, remembering having to be at work in a couple of hours. Alec looked up at her and grabbed her hand. "Where are you going?" He asked in a panicked voice.

She looked at him and smiled, thrilled at the desperation and longing in his voice. "I have to be at work today." Max explained gently taking her hand from his.

Alec remembered that he too would have to be at work soon. He wished that he wouldn't have to go. He wanted to spend the whole day with the silver-masked girl. He sighed as he stood up as well. "Yeah, me too." He admitted reluctantly.

Max stared at the beautiful stranger as he stared back at her. Each not wanting to say goodbye.

"Will I see you again?" Alec asked sadly, dreading her answer.

"Yeah. The club. Remember?" Max said referring to the next event that the city had planned.

Alec was glad that she still wanted to play by the rules. "How will I find you?" Alec asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Max said referring to the already unbreakable magnetic force between them.

Alec knew exactly what she meant. He nodded slowly, taking his time to memorize her face as best as he could with her mask in the way. Then he slowly reached up to caress the side of her face with the back of his fingers. He felt her tremble at his warm touch.

Max noticed that he was the same temperature as her. She wondered how-maybe he was sick? She couldn't help but shiver at his touch though. He lowered his hand and they continued to stare at each other. Max committed his face to memory just incase she really didn't see him again. She tried not to imagine that. Eventually Max pulled herself out of their little bubble and knew that she had to leave. She reluctantly turned her face from his and walked past him, each foot being forced to walk in front of the other as Max tried not to just take the day off of work. But before Max was out of reach Alec turned around, having lost the non-contact war, and grabbed her hand to pull her to him again only this time into an amorous hug. Max gasped slightly taken off-guard and then returned the hug with excessive force.

At first Alec had used enough force not to kill her but then she pulled him tighter and he increased in strength and on it went until Max and Alec both used their maximum transgenic strength to hold each other as tightly as possible. They were both surprised at the other's strength. Max supposed that he could just have been an extremely strong person but she was shocked nonetheless. Alec was totally in awe at how strong the petite blonde was. Each of their strengths should have made a human pass out by then. Instead they reveled in the extreme strength coursing through them. Alec memorized her scent as he put his nose next to her neck. Inhaling, he noticed a strange scent, out of place on her. Max, doing the exact same thing as Alec, realized the same thing. They stood there in embrace for a few minutes not thinking about anything besides the other. An unconscious thought told them that they had been waiting to do this for a long time, and not only since ten hours ago when they had just met.

Then, at the same time, they let go of one another, completely satisfied and ready to wait for the next time they would meet.

"_Goodbye_." Max whispered and then went through the entrance to the roof and disappeared, leaving Alec alone. He took off his mask and looked at the door where the girl of his dreams had disappeared through.

A/N: Please review so that I can upload the next chapter! It's finished already so…


	3. Fright to flight: Scaredy cat

Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Angel, Max, Alec or any other characters from DA. I wish I did!

A/N: I'm really touched by the awesome reviews I've been getting and I almost uploaded this too soon but I reined myself in.

OMG I am **sooo sorry** about the whole underlined italics thing! I don't understand how that happened! I swear I didn't do it! I mean it didn't look like that when I was editing before publishing. This stupid thing! I didn't check to see what it actually looked like on the site (I went straight to reviews) so this is a lesson for me -check every chapter! LOL

Chapter 3 -Fright to flight: Scaredy cat

Max walked through the entrance of Jam Pony on time for once in her life. She walked over to her locker and found OC and Sketchy talking about the ball. Everyone in Jam Pony was in a buzz of chatter as they talked about the ball. Max joined Original Cindy and Sketchy.

"She was da bomb! I'm telling you." Sketchy tried to convince OC about his date.

"Whatever you say wigga." OC laughed.

"What's up?" Max asked listening to their disagreement.

"Hey Max. How was your night?" Sketchy asked.

"Great." Max said raising her eyebrows to show her two friends her disbelief. Then Max got lost in thought.

Alec walked into Jam Pony a few seconds after Max. He walked over to join the small group of friends. Max didn't notice his presence as she remembered her mysterious romance.

"Hey Alec." Sketchy said as Alec joined them.

"Hey guys." Alec said back. He looked at Max who was totally lost in thought. Alec ignored the fact that she hadn't even noticed him again. "How was your date with Rafe?" Alec asked Max.

"Hmm?" Max said returning from her reverie.

"Oh she had a good night aiight. Di'n't even show up at home last night." Original Cindy said looking at Max with a knowing smile.

"Nice." Sketchy nodded his head at Max.

Max's eyes widened at OC to give her a too-much-information look.

"Oh." Alec raised his eyebrows at Max. He was confused. He thought that she was absolutely set on the Logan thing. He had no idea that she was serious about seeing other people. He thought that Rafer was just a mischance. 'Wonder if Max would ever…' Alec didn't even dare to think it. Being with Max was an impossibility. Even if it was his only secret wish that overshadowed everything else sometimes. He pushed the thought away.

"I guess things with Rafer went better than you expected, hey Maxie?" He said masochistically.

Max gave him one of her looks of pure tolerance. "No. I met someone else." She finished with a disgusted face at Alec.

Alec raised his eyebrows at her. "Really? What's he like? A rich guy who likes to save the world?" Alec asked cheekily.

"Not that it's any of your business but he's perfect. Exactly like me."

"He must be a rude smartass then." Alec prodded Max.

Max gave Alec a death-glare.

"Well, that's nice and all Max but I just so happened to find someone who might be the one." Alec said not showing how serious he actually was.

"Poor girl." Max said walking away to start delivering packages.

As Max took a package to get away from Alec she realized that his voice had triggered memories from the night before. She wondered why he could even be associated with anything to do with the man she had met last night. She tried to compare their voices but she found that task ridiculous. She had never ever paid attention to Alec's voice and when she thought about it, the only way she could describe it: it was a whining, irritating voice. On the other hand, the man she had met the night before's voice was husky and mesmerizing… Max got lost in thought again.

By lunchtime Max had analyzed the entire conversation from last night. And it only made her more curious about the golden-masked…Greek God was how Max thought of him.

She got back to Jam Pony around lunchtime and went to join OC and Alec for lunch. They sat on the benches beside the lockers.

"Hey, when's the next party again?" Alec asked the two temperamental women.

"Dunno." Max said looking at OC, hoping that she had the answer.

"Tomorrow night." OC informed them.

Max and Alec each smiled to themselves.

OC saw each of the transgenics get lost in a happy little bubble of their own. "Why're you two so happy?" OC asked looking between them.

"I think I met the love of my life last night." Alec said telling the truth, his mind in a kind of uncaring bliss.

"Me too." Max said too quickly surprising OC, Alec and herself.

"And Logan?" Original Cindy was shocked, her eyebrows almost reaching her hairline.

Max swallowed. She hadn't thought of that. "I don't know." Max said regretting saying anything in Alec's presence. Knowing his big mouth he would probably tell Logan if he had the chance.

Just then Rafer walked into Jam Pony spotting Max and walking over. Max didn't notice him until he was walking towards her.

"Max." He said standing beside the benches.

Max looked up at him in surprise. "Hey."

"Did you go last night?"

"Yeah. I was looking for you but then…" Max didn't know how to finish the sentence. She looked down.

"I was also looking for you. Sorry I was late."

"It's alright." Max's expression was forgiving. "I left early anyway." She told a half-truth.

Rafer nodded. "Yeah, I looked for you too but then I found someone else to dance with." He said sheepishly.

Max laughed at his expression. "It's alright. Really."

Alec thought about how much Max's story coincided with the girl he had met the night before. He looked at Max surreptitiously while she spoke with Rafer. He tried to compare her to the girl from the night before but there were too many differences. The mask was too much in the way to compare faces. And on top of that the girl from the night before was blonde, nice to him and completely willing to talk about herself and her problems. He highly doubted that Max was capable. He shook his head almost laughing at the thought of Max being the mystery woman who had stolen his heart the first moment he saw her. Alec stood up and told OC that he was going to carry on with more deliveries. Max was still talking to Rafer. He didn't feel the need to listen in.

The next night Max arrived at the club with Original Cindy. As they got in OC met up with her date and Max told them that she would be fine alone and that they should go and enjoy themselves. OC knew that Max was looking for her mystery man.

Max had dressed up in her blonde wig and mask just like the flyer had indicated. She wore a black skirt and a black shirt that covered her barcode so that she didn't have to cover it with make-up.

As Max looked around the crowded club, she began to panic. What if he didn't show? Eventually Max had run through every imaginable possibility of him not showing up that she was sure he was a figment of her imagination. She somehow couldn't believe the magic that had transpired between them. Max looked everywhere for him. What she didn't know was that as soon as she moved into one section of the club, Alec was leaving that section and looking in another for her. If Max was worried that he was only a dream then Alec was downright petrified. He scoured the club for the beautiful girl, each minute that passed making his fear double in force. Then after awhile Max and Alec ended up in the same section and they were staring at each other like an unbelievably beautiful mirage. They walked towards each other and reached out as if to make sure the other was real. Then Alec pulled her to him and did something that he had been thinking about for the past two days. He crushed his lips to hers and pulled her closer still.

Max stood up on her toes before he lifted her from the floor leveling their heights as they kissed. A few people stared at them. As they broke the kiss to study one another's faces, having not seen the other for awhile, Alec gasped.

"What?" Max asked, confused by his sudden hitch of breath.

"You're just so beautiful." Alec said, telling half of the truth. He had actually gasped because she looked so familiar. And not just déjà vu familiar. Alec never forgot a face. Even if it was only half of a face, the other half covered by a mask. As he released the girl from his vice-like grip so that she could stand on the floor once again, he noticed that she couldn't understand the confusion on his face.

"What?" Max asked again getting a little frustrated.

"You look extremely familiar. Like I've met you before." His eyebrows creased.

"Yeah, the other night at the ball." Max laughed, wondering how much this guy could possibly get around, forgetting someone he had spent an entire night talking to.

Alec shook his head fervently, ignoring her insinuation. "No. Even before that…" He continued to scrutinize her face. He reached for her silver mask slowly.

Max pulled away. "No, you'll see me at the end of the third event remember? Rules!" She said taking his hand from the edge of her mask. Max saw him sigh in defeat. She laughed again at his expression.

Alec really wanted to know who she was. Where he knew her from. How he could have such a connection with her. So many similarities. Then he looked the girl up and down, only pulling his gaze from her face for the first time then. She looked great again. Her black skirt flattered her perfect legs.

Max did the same thing to him. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked roguish and mischievous in his current attire. The formal and casual both looked good on him. Max felt slightly flushed. Almost like she was in heat but she knew that it wasn't the right time of year for heat. She was amazed by the feeling she got when she looked at him. Then she noticed his dark blonde hair. It was in a perfect disarray. They both walked between the people towards the bar. Max followed after Romeo trying not to lose him in the crowd. Then a gang of sorts pushed their way in front of Max blocking her view and her way to the bar. She got irritated. "Do ya mind? I'm tryin' ta walk here!" She said to the men standing between her and the direction of the bar. The gang members all looked at Max with unfriendly emotions flickering across their faces. Irritation, anger-from the biggest one standing near to Max. A few other ones' faces turned disturbingly friendly. Max stood her ground.

"What?" The leader asked before looking at Max. Then he absorbed the sight of the seemingly harmless girl. He began to smile suggestively at her.

"Do you mind letting me through?" Max crossed her arms and jutted out her hip.

"Sweetheart you can do whatever you like with me." He leered moving closer to her.

Max didn't like this guy's attitude. "What's a girl gotta do to avoid getting hit on by a bunch of thugs?" Max asked cheekily.

The gang was riled by her insult. The leader thug took the insult as an invitation. He leaned towards her and tried to put his hand on her waist but before he knew what had hit him Max had taken hold of his collar and had kneed him hard in the crotch. He hunched over and the rest of the gang was outraged. The three guys left all advanced on her. One shouting over the loud music: "Now you're dead!"

Max realized that she would have to kick all their asses. She surveyed the scene. She looked for Romeo. She had already lost him. As long as he didn't see her taking any of these guys down it was okay. She didn't want to be different in his eyes. She had just met him and as far as she knew she was still pretty normal to him. Max had a stray thought about Logan. She wondered if things would have been different if she hadn't always acted like such a freak. She internally shook her head. Logan would never judge her about who she was but it was still a difference between them. She wondered how this new guy would react if she told him that she was made in a test tube.

Another guy with a switchblade approached from the front as the largest of the three circled behind Max. She took them both out trying not to rip her skirt.

Alec walked up to the bar and turned around. The girl was gone. Alec ran back the way he had come searching for her. Then he saw a rather mean looking guy approaching her with a knife in his right hand. Alec saw red as he rushed over. He tapped the man on the shoulder and as he turned around Alec punched him in the face knocking him out cold. Max smiled sheepishly at Alec as he saw three other guys lying on the floor writhing in pain and trying to crawl away. He looked at Max with his head tilted to the side, trying to make sense of the scene. Max walked over to him.

"Thanks." She said flattered that he had actually **protected** **her** from something. It was rare for that to happen to Max. She was always protecting herself. But she still regretted him seeing any of that.

"Let's get outta here." Alec said in a normal voice tone, surprised that Max could hear him. The pounding music would have made a normal person have to shout yet they could hear each other perfectly. They took each other's hands as if they didn't ever want to be separated again and they headed to the roof of the building. They walked to the edge of the roof and looked for the best place to sit. Max spotted a raised area at the edge of the roof and pointed. It was extremely high and narrow. Alec looked at her like she was insane.

"Why do you always find the tallest, most dangerous place to sit?" He asked her.

"Are you scared?" She teased.

"No." Alec said widening his eyes and shaking his head.

"Because it's beautiful looking out over the city." Max explained.

"Alright." Alec said; ready to give the blonde beauty anything she wanted.

They walked to the concrete block of sorts and before Max could get up by herself, Alec lifted her by the waist as if she weighed as much as a puppy, and put her down on the high ledge. He lifted himself up with ease. They spoke for a few hours until they heard people begin to leave the club and the music became softer from inside the building. They kept track of time but neither wanted to leave yet. By now he had his arm around Max and her head was on his shoulder. Alec was still trying to figure out who she was. He had made a mental checklist:

-beautiful

-strong

-observant

-intelligent

-blonde

-petite

-no parents

-not scared of anything

-high temperature

The more Alec thought about it the more she seemed to be transgenic. 'What are the chances?' Alec thought to himself shaking his head. There was a comfortable silence that had fallen over them as they looked out over the broken cityscape. As the silver-masked girl rested her head on Alec's shoulder he surreptitiously looked at the back of her neck. It was covered by the choker/collar of her black sleeveless shirt. The shirt left most of the back open for which Alec was grateful. He traced his fingers along her spine and felt her tremble slightly at his touch. He smiled to himself. She lifted her head from his shoulder so that she could look at his face. They once again tried to figure out what the other would look like without their masks.

"You have no idea what I would give to take your mask off right now." Alec said after awhile.

Max honestly considered taking off her mask for him but then decided not to. She wanted them to really know each other before messing things up with names and faces.

Alec leaned towards her face and kissed her cheek before resting his head on her chest, listening to her heart. Max froze and tried to control her frenzied thoughts and erratic heartbeat. As he listened and her heartbeat slowed to its normal pace he realized that it also beat at the same pace as his (faster than normal). He added it to his list. After awhile he raised his head so that he could trace her jaw line with his nose. Inhaling, he recognized the scent that had been bugging him the whole time. It was slightly feline. Just like his own. She was X5 no doubt. Alec pulled away and looked at her face again in a new light. She was different alright. She was the female version of him in almost everyway imaginable. It only made him love her more. Alec backtracked. Did he just admit to loving her? He rethought it. Maybe it was more of the falling in love process. He got an idea.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked his transgenic Juliet.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Alright."

Alec jumped down from the ledge but before he could help the girl down himself, she had already jumped and landed on the lower level of the roof with as much style and ease as him. He took it as an extra confirmation that she was X5. On the way to the street Alec wondered if he should mention that he was transgenic as well. They walked down the street in the middle of the night. As they talked Alec tried to extract information about who she really was without informing her.

Max noticed that prince charming was looking for something in her answers. She turned and faced him on the sidewalk, blocking his path and looking up at him with an accusatory look. "Spit it out." She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

Alec was speechless. She had called him out. He thought quickly for a cover. He wasn't ready for the transgenic discussion yet. Things were so good between them as they were. Complete strangers.

"I have a confession to make." Alec said smirking. He tried to sell the look of innocence as he thought for an excuse. Then he found one. "I don't usually go for blondes." He said hoping that she would buy his 'assassin/professional liar' poker face. She did.

"I'm actually a brunette." Max said laughing at his comment.

Alec was surprised at that. He thought about the strange significance it seemed to have in his subconscious mind. "Wow. When did you dye your hair?"

"It's a wig." Max admitted. "ya know, for the whole disguise thing."

As Alec stared into her big brown eyes, imagining her with brown hair, he thought about Max and how much he missed her. Something clicked in his head. His expression changed from happy to flabbergasted. '**Max**.' Was all Alec could think. His face paled and Max noticed the immediate change.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." She said waving her hand in front of his face. Her voice had the opposite of a calming affect on Alec. The more she spoke, the more he recognized her. He thought back to everything that they had ever talked about. Family, boyfriends, friends, upbringing. Then he thought back to his X5 theory, which wasn't so much a theory as a fact. She wasn't really blonde either. Alec went into flight mode.

"I have to go." He only managed to get out one sentence of an explanation before he bolted, blurring from Max's vision.

Max stood there looking around her. A million questions flooded her mind and then one was battering itself around Max's mind. Dying to escape from her lips. "**Will I ever see you again!**" Max just about screamed after the empty darkness that Alec had left in his wake.

A/N: I need help from you guys with finishing this story because I'm not sure how it should end exactly but I'll ask for opinions in more detail when I get to where I've written up to. I still have a chapter or two left before I need help.

PLEASE tell me what you think. Press that little 'review this story' button. It really affects how often I upload stuff.


	4. The Meadow

Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Angel T_T

A/N: I've got a few more pages to write until I'm finished so I don't need help finishing it anymore. So I have about two chapters left after this and I'm really happy with the ending. But for now enjoy:

Chapter 4 -The Meadow

Max walked into her apartment where Original Cindy was asleep in her bed already. Max made no noise as she snuck in in the middle of the night. She replayed the scene in her head over and over again. So many questions were unanswered about the mystery man who had vanished. How could he have blurred so quickly like that? Why had he been so freaked all of a sudden? Max had stood there on the sidewalk for a few minutes before she realized that he wasn't coming back. She had gotten extremely frustrated at her situation -being stuck in the street in the middle of the night. Abandoned and not even for a reason or explanation. She blurred out of there towards her apartment which was in the same sector.

Now Max sat on her couch, too highly strung to sleep. She decided to put the night to good use and she took a bath and read -which was something rare. When the sun began to rise Max got changed for work and made herself an early morning cup of coffee. OC was still asleep. Max wondered if she would have the chance to see her mystery boy at the final event.

Alec had blurred away from Max as fast as he could. He needed space from her to put things in perspective. As he sprinted he wondered how Max would hurt him when she figured it out. Not only physical pain but no doubt she would tear his figurative heart out. He would be completely rejected. Then Alec stopped in his tracks. He cussed under his breath as he realized what an idiot he had been. He had left Max alone in the street. He didn't doubt that she could take care of herself but he still felt anxious leaving her in a dangerous part of Seattle in the middle of the night. He blurred back to where he had left her but as soon as he got there she was gone. 'Did you expect her to wait around for you?' Alec thought bitterly to himself. He stood in the spot where they had once been and couldn't believe the emptiness that he felt without her there. He could have had another few hours with her if he hadn't screwed everything up.

Alec walked into Jam Pony knowing that he would see Max. He slipped in trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It was a busy, sunny day and everyone was in a good mood. Besides himself and Max. With the exception of Normal who was always in a bad mood. As Alec approached his locker he scoped the room for Max. He didn't see her anywhere. Then he stopped and shook his head at his cowardly ways. Why was he sneaking around, trying to avoid Max? He had already talked himself into confronting her and telling her the truth an hour earlier. Now that it was nearly time for the dreaded conversation that was sure to injure him physically and emotionally, Alec didn't have the guts to do it. He knew that it would be his heart on the line. As he got his messenger's bag from his locker he began to make excuses. 'She doesn't know it's you. Relax. You don't have to tell her yet.' He thought to himself. He rushed to get a package before Max showed up. Just as he was leaving Max walked in. They bumped into each other making the other stumble a little. Unlike Rafer, Max knew that Alec was as firm on his feet as her. She looked at him with a small sad smile. She wasn't in the mood to be cruel to him. She was in an extremely glum mood and didn't want to inflict it on anyone else. As Alec took in the sight of her without her mask or wig, his suspicions were confirmed. He almost fell to his knees, paralyzed by the overwhelming love he felt for her, but he simply froze in place as she smiled and walked past him. He was just as shocked that she hadn't reprimanded him for bumping into her. Instead she had smiled. He noticed that she was sad. Alec debated whether to follow after her or go on his originally planned run. His less noble side won and he used the excuse 'she would know something's up' to let himself go.

Max walked to her locker and got ready for a hard days work. She would use any kind of distraction at the moment. She realized that she needed someone that would take her mind off of the previous night. Someone who talked a lot. She knew exactly who. She realized that Alec had just left. 'Dammit.' She thought to herself. She would have to ride with the second noisiest. She looked around for Sketchy.

Max went on deliveries with Sketchy until lunchtime. She was getting slightly irritated with him. She looked around for Alec again. He was finished with his lunch and Max caught him on his way out.

"Alec." She called after him.

He turned reluctantly to look at her.

"Can I ride with you?" She stated more than asked, knowing that he wouldn't mind the company, and if he did he would just have to deal with it.

Alec was hesitant as he answered. "Alright." He gave her a crooked smile. The whole day he had been avoiding her and the only time in his life when he actually wanted to be away from her -she wanted to deliver packages with him.

They both rode out of Jam Pony with their bikes. Alec voiced a question.

"Not that I'm complaining but what brought on the sudden demand for my company?" Alec asked hoping that she didn't want to talk to him about anything in particular.

"Don't flatter yourself." Max smiled slightly. "I needed a distraction." She said simply.

"From what?" Alec dug for information cautiously. He knew that he could question her about himself. She didn't know that it was him yet. And then he could find out how she truly felt -from a different perspective so to speak.

"I had a rough night. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Alright." Alec said.

"So how was your night?" Max said trying to get him to talk about himself. She didn't consider it a hard task.

Alec couldn't give her any information. He was now encroaching on dangerous territory. "Oh, I just met up with my date." He said with a believable expression.

"Have fun?" Max smiled but it didn't touch her eyes.

"Yeah. But you went to the club right?" Alec deflected the question in the right direction.

"Yeah." Max said sounding forlorn again.

"What happened? Thought you met a new boyfriend?" Alec said in a teasing tone. As much as he hated her to be sad, he was enjoying his freedom to ask her questions.

Max gave him an irritated glare. "He's not my new boyfriend and he ditched me."

"Sorry." Alec said sincerely. "How do you feel about him?" He wondered how far he could go with this conversation.

Max wondered if she should even be talking to Alec about this. She hadn't told anyone except OC. Then she figured what the hell. "I really think I love him. Even though I have no idea who he is." Max confessed.

Alec's heart stuttered when she said 'love'. If only he could tell her. He wished he had more courage. He also wished he knew how she would react if she knew who her mystery man really was. He carried on with the questioning.

"If you really love him you wouldn't care who he was."

Max shook her head. "I wouldn't care." Then added: "Unless he's some sick familiar." she laughed.

"As if a familiar could ever look that good." Alec muttered.

"What?" Max asked, confused by his comment.

Alec realized his slip and looked for an escape. "Maybe you'll see him at the third event." He nodded reassuringly at Max and turned in another direction. "I gotta go." He called over his shoulder.

Max was a little confused by his sudden exit but carried on in the direction of sector 6.

Max didn't see Alec for the rest of that day but didn't think anything of it. She asked Original Cindy when the next event was that night while they talked about Max's new 'squeeze'. She found out that it was the very next evening. Max sighed. Friday night. She was going. That was a fact. She wouldn't let anything get in her way and then she would be able to take his mask off at the end of the night. Max thought about Alec's unusually deep words. She truly wondered if it would matter who he was. She had eventually made up her mind by the next day that it was impossible for her to reject him. She wouldn't care who he was no matter what. She was set on a non-judgmental mind frame. The whole day at work she began to get anxious. Not so much nervous as excited. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this many butterflies battering around in her stomach, no doubt bruising her internal organs. It was still sunny when it was around five and she left work earlier than usual to get ready. Max decided to ditch her blonde wig and wear her favorite jeans and black leather jacket. She wanted Romeo to know how she dressed normally.

In Alec's apartment a similar scene ensued. Alec wore his favorite jeans and T-shirt and his favorite jacket.

As the two transgenics prepared they wondered how they would find one another. They were going to Bellevue Park, the most beautiful place in Seattle, if not the entire state of Washington. It had tons of different themed gardens. Each as beautiful as the next. Once they each arrived they began to realize the near impossible task of finding each other.

The gardens were lit by beautiful lights intertwining with the branches of trees and highlighting every pathway. People wandered through the many different themed gardens. Alec walked into the Japanese themed garden, looking around, he thought of the most likely place for Max to be. He walked up to a security guard.

"Excuse me. Do you know where the highest garden is?"

The guard didn't understand. "Highest garden?"

"You know, like on a hill or something." Alec tried to explain.

"That's funny, a girl just asked me the same thing." The guard said.

Alec's body tensed. "Do you know where she went?" Alec's eyes were wide and his heart was racing.

"Told her to follow that path," The guard pointed to a long beautifully paved pathway that was covered by trees on either side. "and that would take her to the tree meadow. It's on a hil-" The guard trailed off as Alec was already gone.

Max walked into the meadow. It was the highest point in the whole park. She hoped that the masked stranger would know where to find her. It was almost pitch black under the largest tree in the meadow. The hill looked out over the whole park and some shimmering city lights could be seen in the distance. Max heard people talking in the distance. The park was full of the people that had been at the other two events yet the garden Max stood in was deserted. It didn't have any shimmering lights that would attract people to it. And Max knew that generally people didn't like the dark. She wondered if Romeo would mind. The meadow was only lit by a full moon that shone brightly in the night sky. Max focused her hearing to listen for anyone approaching. She began to get anxious and doubtful that he would even show. Then Max heard someone approaching.

Alec saw Max standing underneath a tree on the far side of the meadow. He slowed his pace and walked towards her. She turned towards him and the smile that spread across her face was heartbreakingly beautiful. Alec swallowed taking his time to get to her as she waited for him under the low branches of a large oak tree. He noticed that she had no wig on this time. He wondered how he didn't know it was her before. It was so obvious to him now. Secretly Alec was extremely grateful that it was her. Even if he stood next to no chance of actually being with her, he was grateful for the time that he had gotten. He wasn't going to ruin the next few hours with her. Then before he would have to take his mask off, he would leave. Then Max would never have to know who he really was and their beautiful romance would be frozen in time forever. Alec walked over to Max.

They stood across from one another only a foot apart.

"_I'm sorry_." He whispered, apologizing not only for abandoning her the other night but for what he was going to do in the next few hours.

Max, at first wanting to shout at him for leaving her the other night, saw the absolute sincerity on his face and decided to let it go -for the moment. "It's okay." She nodded.

Alec shuddered at Max's voice, still not used to the affectionate tone that she used towards him.

She reached up and placed a hand on his face before reaching for his mask.

"We have a few hours until that." He said, gently taking her hand from his face and gathering both of her hands in his own.

Max's stomach tightened. She noticed a sadness in his words. Like he was saying goodbye. She chased the offending thought away.

Alec closed the gap between them and lifted Max off of the ground, pulling her close to him. Max wasn't used to such affection. No one dared to lift her from the ground and support her body weight fully and when a previous boyfriend had they had never been able to keep her there for long without feeling strained. She normally would have protested but he was different. She felt his strength. He wasn't bothered with her weight at all. They both leaned towards each other and kissed. Alec tangled his fingers in her hair and supported her body with only one arm. After awhile they broke away, in need of oxygen. Alec smiled at her. "I like your hair." He said running his fingers through it.

"Thought I'd show you what I look like all the time. Minus the mask." She added.

Alec studied what her face looked like without irritation, anger or sadness.

"Don't you get tired of carrying me?" She asked honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't your arms sore after 10 minutes of holding me up?"

"I'd hold you forever if I could." He said sadly, knowing that he would have to let her go. Literally and figuratively. Then he lowered her and her shoes touched the ground again. Max regretted saying anything. They both sat on the grass underneath the oak tree's branches. Alec leaned against the tree and Max leaned on him. Alec felt her shiver slightly. He didn't listen to her lame excuses of not being cold as he wrapped his arms around her. Alec enjoyed his current freedom. He could hold her without complaint. Then he realized an added benefit of the mask that he wore. He could still question her.

"Before we take our masks off, I want to know more about you."

"What do you want to know?" Max asked.

"For starters. Tell me about everyone important in your life."

"Should I use names?"

"Yeah." Alec braced himself. "And don't leave anything out." He commanded, squeezing Max affectionately in his arms.

She laughed. "Alright. Where should I start?"

A/N: Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! You guys are great. Keep telling me what you think please!


	5. Close to the edge

Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I don't own this beautiful series T_T

A/N: The fact that this story may give people butterflies when they read it (Chronicles of an Insomniac) makes me soooooo happy cuz that's what I look for in a story and I'm really glad that my story is good enough to do that!

Chapter 5 -Close to the edge

Max Told Alec about everyone important in her life. She used their real names as it didn't matter anymore. The only name she didn't reveal was her own. She didn't know that the perfect stranger she had been meeting for the past week was already aware of who she was. She spoke of Logan, leaving out the exact details of their relationship like the virus. She spoke of all of her friends. OC, Sketchy, Herbal, Kendra. People who had moved away and people who were still around. She even mentioned an extremely close friend who was like a brother to her. She spoke of Zack in the past tense yet she knew that he was still alive somewhere, living as someone else. And so did Alec.

Alec looked at her with an interested expression that held no recognition as he pretended to hear of these people for the first time in his life. He held on to her every word, expecting her to mention himself any minute now. As she withdrew herself from the conversation and simply said: "That's everyone." Alec felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Sure there's no one else?" Alec asked, trying to sound unaffected and nonchalant.

"That's pretty much everyone important in my life." Max nodded slowly.

They were now sitting cross-legged opposite each other. Max had spent a good hour or two talking about everything that she **could** tell him. She didn't mention any of her past brothers and sisters and she didn't mention the few evil people in her life. Lydecker, Renfro, White: they were sure to freak anyone out. She looked into the strangers eyes (though she didn't consider him a stranger anymore). She still had that sense of familiarity and a slightly irrational irritation when she looked at him. She had stopped trying to figure out who he was a while ago since it didn't really matter. And she really did try to follow the rules of the events.

- Make friends with a stranger. Check. Don't reveal name, title, rank, occupation, residential address or anything else that could inform you of who they were in any way. Check. Wear a disguise and never remove it. Check (Max didn't count the wig as a disqualifier). The next rules weren't really rules. They were more like guidelines that the city council had set for increased effectiveness and safety. Meet your new friend on each occasion. Check. Do not agree to go anywhere unsafe with them. Uncheck. Max began to break the rules when they had left the events every time to talk someplace else. Do not initiate any physical contact with strangers. Uncheck. Max wondered if the city council had any clue about the youth of today. The only way they would want to meet new people was to meet a new love interest.

Max and Alec both heard a microphone being tested. In the distance a group of people gathered around a stage. Members of the city council were concluding the events. The two transgenics listened to the announcements. The council thanked everyone who participated and said some speech about the youth and the future of Seattle. Then they thanked the locations and endorsements that had helped them pull it off without many hitches (there had obviously been a few. The youth of a pulse-stricken Seattle was only as safe as expected). Once they were done they told everyone that they could now remove their masks.

Max and Alec looked at one another as everyone cheered in the distance, celebrating and removing their masks to reveal who they were.

"I think we should get some things straightened out before we take our masks off." Max said standing up. Alec followed, standing as well. He nodded in agreement.

"I need to ask you a question." Max said. She hoped that things would be the same between them when their masks were gone.

"Alright." Alec encouraged. He wasn't sure how he was going to escape without having to remove his mask. He wondered if he even had the strength to keep his secret from her anymore. For a second he wished that he had never figured out who she was. Then he would be in the same relaxed position that she was in. He knew one thing for certain though. He would never reveal to Max who he was. She had clearly showed him how important 'Alec' was in her life. Not even mentioned. Totally over-looked. He wished that it could have been different.

Max took a deep breath before continuing. There were so many things she wanted to know. But they would have to wait until they took their masks off. She asked him a question that had been bothering her. "Why did you freak out the other night? And how did you just disappear like that?"

"That was two questions." Alec smiled, biding his time to come up with an answer.

Max gave him an enduring look. Alec knew he would have to answer this infuriatingly beautiful woman one way or another. He wrestled with himself over whether or not to tell her the whole truth, part of the truth or a blatant lie. His inexperienced heart was telling him to out with it all but his extremely logical mind was telling him of everything that would be jeopardized in the process. He went with a not so comfortable half-truth.

"I realized that I already know who you are." Alec blurted before his mind could retract and flee into a lie. Max stared at him for a moment. Shock painted onto her face. Alec wondered how he was going to escape. He came up with a quick plan. He hoped that it would work.

"How-"

"Please let me explain before you ask questions." Alec interrupted, stepped closer. Now standing only a foot from her.

Max nodded.

"Before I start I need to know a few things." Alec said in a serious voice.

"Okay." Max said, using up a large quantity of her patience. Her mind secretly searching for who he was.

Alec took a deep breath, hoping that it would help. It didn't. "How do you feel about me?" He asked.

Max took a moment to answer, looking for the truth. Then she looked into his eyes with absolute adoration. "I think I…" Max tried to find another way to say the words that were stuck in her throat. "I…" She mentally screamed at herself for being such a coward. Why couldn't she say those three words that she knew were true. She had even admitted it to Alec. Why couldn't she tell this boy in front of her?

Alec continued. He knew that Max couldn't go there. Wouldn't go there. She wouldn't admit it to him, even if she had let him in on the truth without even knowing it. "I know I love you. Even before we met at the ball the other night. I've known for awhile." Alec felt better for once. It felt good to confess everything. Even if he was anonymous while he did it.

Max stared at the person who had won her heart. He knew her. And loved her. She wondered how she couldn't have known about this sooner. She realized that that was how the familiarity was connected with it all. The feeling that they knew each other better than mere strangers would. Except he had figured out who she was and she hadn't. She studied his face again, running through mental pictures of all the people she had ever met in her life. Alec realized what she was doing and knew that he had to leave.

"Close your eyes." He almost commanded. He was surprised that Max obeyed.

He prepared himself for flight mode again but before he left he leaned towards her and kissed her forehead. "_Goodbye Max_." He whispered against her skin before blurring from sight as quickly as possible. He knew that he wouldn't be able to outrun Max if she caught sight of him, so he counted on the fact that she wouldn't know which direction he had gone.

When he had said her name and goodbye, Max knew that it was already too late. He was gone. The initial shock of his absence made her forget an important fact. She blurred into an unknown direction trying to catch up to him. When she realized that he was already gone she stopped and walked back to the meadow.

Max stood in the darkness of the meadow and this time waited until he came back. She wouldn't allow herself to believe that he was gone forever. She wondered how he could just disappear like that and she wondered where they could possibly know each other from. Then realization hit her like a brick wall. He was transgenic. So many things made sense with that realization. **He was her **in almost every way. If she had met him back at Manticore then how come he had fallen in love with her? She didn't know any transgenic that well.

Max sat under the tree until she felt too tired to think anymore. She got up reluctantly, as if by leaving the meadow, she was accepting the fact that she would never see him again.

Max went to work the next morning with a sinking feeling in her heart. She knew that she would probably never see him again and her mind ran over and over that fact masochistically. Max sat on the bench next to her locker and stared dejectedly at the floor. She was early for work as she hadn't even gone back to her apartment. She had left the gardens to go straight to work. She had managed to arrive at the same time as Normal practically. He was shocked at her early appearance.

Max had been sitting there for a few minutes, waiting for Normal to order her around or something but instead he worked quietly behind his desk, wondering what was wrong with her. More and more stragglers of people wondered in to their shifts.

Alec walked in hoping that a busy day's work would preoccupy him and hoping that he wouldn't run into Max. He walked in early and caught sight of Max sitting on a low bench next to her locker. She was wearing the clothes from the night before and looked absolutely terrible. His heart tightened. He was relieved that he had gone home to change. Otherwise she would have recognized him straight away. Alec fought the urge to go over to her and comfort her. He talked to Normal until Original Cindy arrived.

She walked over to Max to find out what had happened.

Alec snuck closer so that he could eavesdrop, leaving Normal to talk to himself. He walked nonchalantly past Max and OC and pretended to look for something in his locker.

"I don't understand." Max moped, her spirit completely broken.

"What'd he say?" OC asked, placing a gentle hand on Max's back.

"That he knew who I was. And that he loved me." Max looked into OC's eyes.

OC's eyebrows rose. "Damn."

"The worst part is that I didn't even tell him that I feel the same way."

"Do you know who he is boo?"

"No." Max shook her head. "But I think he's a transgenic."

Alec swallowed hard. She'd figured that much. He should've expected that. You can't outrun Max without being a little suspicious. Okay, extremely suspicious.

"It doesn't matter who he is. I love him now. There's no going back on that. Now I'll never see him again."

Alec tuned back in to her conversation. He wondered if she really meant that. He turned to look at Max, taking a chance on getting caught. She looked miserable. Alec realized that he was being extremely unfair. He knew who she was and could continue to see her on a day to day basis, yet she had no idea who he was or where he was and was obviously heartbroken by the fact.

Alec needed to get some air before her beautiful sad face coaxed him into doing something recklessly stupid. He walked to Normal's desk and took a package for a faraway sector. On the ride there his thoughts tormented him to come up with a better or at least a happier solution.

He wondered if she would begin to miss him so much that if he showed her who he was, she wouldn't care. 'Don't be stupid. She would care.' Alec thought to himself. Again he battled with his feelings, conscience and brain. They each told him something different. In general, two objectives arose. Firstly to just tell her the truth straight away. Then the negative logic in his mind told him that soon she would forget him and move on and so would he. That thought scared him the most and forced him to go with a happy medium: He would meet her again. With a mask. As he selfishly indulged himself with the thought of her presence once again, he thought up a plan.

Max got back from her fifth run and a quick visit to Joshua. She walked to her locker. Her mind had successfully blocked out all thoughts of the previous night. When Max opened her locker a piece of paper came flittering out. She caught it before it dropped to the ground. She opened it and her heart froze and then stuttered back to life. Her stomach involuntarily tightened with excitement.

Juliet

Please meet me in the meadow again tonight.

Don't forget your mask.

Love, Romeo.

Max smiled to herself. She was furious that he was messing with her emotions so much yet she couldn't contain her happiness. She realized something. He knew where she worked and which locker was hers. How could she not know who he was?

Alec observed Max as she read the letter. Her expression was a mixture of fury and euphoria. She began to look around her and Alec turned and walked out of her line of vision so that she wouldn't put anything together and figure out who he was right then. He knew that he would be in serious trouble for leaving her again but he couldn't bring himself to regret his action. Alec was deep in thought until he realized that Max was standing right next to him at the dispatcher's desk.

"Haven't seen you around for awhile." Max said, putting a package into her backpack.

"Been busy." Alec said smoothly.

"With your new date?" Max asked sounding slightly venomous.

Alec wondered if he imagined the slight jealousy in her tone. "You could say that." Alec nodded.

"Good luck." Max said sounding like her usual sarcastic self again. She left Jam Pony to go on another delivery.

Max rode to sector 2 and went over the conversation that they had the previous night. If he knew her then why didn't she know him? If he was really a transgenic then maybe he was something like Brain. If she had met him long ago, perhaps at Manticore, and she'd forgotten about him.

He had asked her about everyone that she knew. Max gasped. He must've been looking for information about himself.

Max got back to Jam Pony later that day only to get her mask from her locker. She was in a hurry to get to the meadow. She wondered exactly what time he wanted to meet her. She rode her Ninja towards Bellevue Botanical Gardens once again.

Alec finished his shift and went home as quickly as possible to grab his mask and change clothes. He knew that Max would notice the clothes he had been wearing at work that day. Even if she didn't seem to care, she wouldn't have missed that. Alec couldn't take any more chances if he still wanted to remain undiscovered. As he left his apartment and headed towards the gardens he wondered how long he could actually keep a secret this huge. Max would find out sooner or later and then what? Alec could only come up with two options: things could get awkward or he could get seriously injured and hated even more than he already was by Max.

Once Alec arrived at the park he thought of what he could say that could make everything work out.

Max walked towards the meadow, losing more determined momentum the closer she got.

She thought of a way to get the mask off of his face. He being a transgenic would make that task hard if he really didn't want it to happen. She was so sure that she would arrive there first that when she saw him leaning against the tree, all of her thoughts and the words and accusations were jumbled and incoherent in her mind. In the distance a rare Seattle sunset cast a golden orange tint over the meadow. Max realized that he hadn't noticed her presence yet. She took advantage of her situation and snuck up on him with feline stealth. She was almost within reach of his mask when he suddenly turned and took a reflexive position to protect himself from the unknown threat that had snuck up on him. Then she saw the surprise in his eyes and saw the flitter of joy that crossed his face.

A/N: I just need to make the next chapter longer and then I'm done. I haven't been writing much since I've become obsessed with Gossip Girl (the series not the fan fiction stories [pretty much the only stories I read are DA- I'm not interested in anything besides MA.]) And I'm buying the next season in a few days (yes, season three since I didn't watch it on TV) so I guess I won't be writing for a little while. (BTW I'm a Chuck/Blair supporter. They're my second favorite couple-Max and Alec come first) But I'm going to try my hardest to get the next chapter out in a week -as usual.

Please review and tell me if this chapter was good or not? I LOVE REVIEWS


	6. Masks off

Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Angel (WEEPS) T_T

A/N: The last chapter! This is the first story that I have ever finished in my life (I swear). I hope you like my conclusion:

Chapter 6 -Masks off

"You're early." Alec accused teasingly. He realized just how close she had come to taking his mask off. He swallowed nervously.

"So are you." Max replied icily. She sometimes couldn't help the unconscious feeling of irritation when she looked at his half-covered face. She wondered if that might have anything to do with how she knew him "and you didn't exactly give me the precise time." She crossed her arms as her previous irritation flared.

Alec knew that look. Her tone of voice and her body's defensive position relayed that she was not in a forgiving mood. Alec knew what was going to happen next.

"What's wrong with you! First you leave me at the side of the road and disappear into thin air! Then you disappear **again** before explaining yourself!" Max didn't really want to be fighting with Romeo but she was getting fed up. She got even more irritated when he began to smirk. "What are you smiling about?" Max wondered if he was even taking her seriously.

Alec hadn't meant to smirk or make her think that he found her rant funny but the truth was that she got irritated with him no matter who he was. He found that amusing. He tried to get his facial features under control.

Max saw him trying not to laugh. "Hey!" She punched him on the shoulder. She knew since he was transgenic that he could handle her full force.

Alec winced and the smile was successfully wiped from his face. "Alright, alright." He said holding up his hand defensively. With the other he rubbed at his shoulder. A pained expression gracing his face.

"Start explaining." Max stated, smiling slightly at their little tiff.

Alec paused and thought of something to say. Then he started with the simplest explanation. "I ran the other night because I realized who you were."

Max's eyebrows creased. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I…" Alec tried to find the words. "I thought that what we had would be ruined if we weren't strangers anymore." Alec admitted.

Max shook her head. "I don't care who you are."

"You will." Alec nodded with certainty.

Max began to protest, shaking her head fervently but Alec cut her off by taking her hands in his own and looking deep into her eyes. He secretly wished that she would realize who he was and then he wouldn't have to worry anymore. But he also pleaded with whatever higher power there was out there for Max to never find out and for their figurative dream to never come to an end.

"You **will** care." Alec said. "If I take my mask off then everything will be messed up."

"That's not fair." Max replied. "You know who I am. Know my name. Know where to find me whenever, probably. And I have to wait around praying that by some miracle I'll run into you or meet you somewhere." Max said with a sad frown. "If you decide to run off again I'd…" Max thought through the scenario in her head and then realized that he wouldn't be able to run away again. "I'd actually be able to catch you." She smiled.

Alec laughed. "You couldn't catch me if you tried Maxie."

Max's breath caught in her throat. She never got used to him saying her name. But she smiled back playfully at him. She inhaled and she suddenly remembered what the odd smell on him was. Feline. Her smile faltered and she inhaled again. He was a tomcat. Her smile was replaced with recognition. "You're X5." Her eyes widened.

Alec swallowed hard. She had figured out that much. Now all she had to do was run through all the possible X5's she knew. He didn't stand a chance. He began to grasp at straws. "Don't try to remember who I am." He pleaded. "I don't want this to end."

"So, what? Are we just going to carry on meeting in odd places until you get bored? I need to know who you are right now." Max pulled her mask off.

Alec swallowed again. He knew that it was Max but it was still strange to actually see her take her mask off. He saw her tense and he backed away a few steps. He knew what she was up to immediately as if he could read her mind. He braced himself.

Max launched herself towards him trying to get to his mask. He deflected her hands and pushed her away. She stumbled a little but then flipped around and took him by surprise as she blurred behind him and jumped on his back. She fought with his hands while she tried to get a hold on the mask. Alec took hold of her arms and flung her off of him so that she flipped forward and then he held her in a bear hug. She twisted her palms so that they were against his restraining arms and pushed them away effectively. She spun around to look at him again and planned her next approach. She blurred towards him again and kicked out his one leg making him unstable and then she tackled him to the ground, the soft grass of the meadow saving Alec from a painful landing. Max once again struggled to move his hands out of the way so that she could get to his mask.

Alec knew that she would win eventually. Alec felt a sudden pang of cowardice. As he fought with her on the ground his nobler side screamed at him to let her take it off already. He refused to be a coward. He couldn't do it anymore. He held Max's arms and hands away for a moment so that he could look up at her frustrated face. She smiled down at him as she realized his concession.

Alec took hold of both of her forearms and placed them on either side of his head. He looked up at her as she lay on top of him. He smiled a sad smile as he knew that this would be the last time she would ever look at him with love in her eyes.

Max frowned at his sad expression and knew that he was worried about her not liking who he was. "Don't worry." She said in a gentle, calming voice. "I don't care who you are. I…I love you." Max finally managed to get the right words out. Then her heart broke at the expression on his face.

Alec closed his eyes in rapture as she said those three words. He realized that what he had experienced over the past week; All the love between him and Max as they were strangers to one another; It was all worth it. Even if she was about to find out who he was and he would be heart-broken again, the happiness he had experienced was a fair trade for the coming pain. He looked at her soft lips that would never touch his ever again. He took advantage of his last moments and Max understood what his resigned expression meant. As he tangled his one hand in her hair and rested the other on the small of her back, he pulled her head down to his so that they could kiss for the last time. Max kissed him back. She knew that he was being ridiculous. 'I won't care. I won't care.' She chanted to herself in her head.

After awhile Max pulled away from their kiss. Her impatience was almost tangible. She looked into Romeo's sad eyes. This was the last time he would ever be 'Romeo' to her.

"Can I…" Max asked.

Alec nodded reluctantly. He kept both of his hands on the small of her back as if by holding her to him would make it hurt less. Alec held his breath as her fingers gripped the mask delicately. He heard her take a deep, excited, breath. He closed his eyes tightly and he bit his lower lip nervously. He didn't want to see her expression change from love to hate. Alec felt Max slowly pull the mask over his forehead.

Max pulled the mask slowly. Her eyes widened and she froze. She didn't breathe, she didn't blink, she didn't think. She looked down at Alec's face. His eyes were still closed and a worried frown knit his eyebrows together. Max tried to make sense of what had just happened and tried to remember all the reassuring thoughts about whoever it was not mattering. "_Alec_." Was all Max was able to whisper in a broken voice.

Alec reluctantly opened his eyes. His mask lay behind his head. He couldn't help but feel naked without it. He stared into Max's eyes trying to figure out her emotions. He wished she would understand how he felt for her. He wished that she would love him back.

Max tried to clear her thoughts. "Alec. What…" She managed in a louder, firmer voice but she trailed off with uncertainty. She wondered what to do. What to say. She remembered the silent vow she took to erase the bad history that she might have had with this person. But she had no idea that it was Alec. It all made sense to her then. He was X5. Dark blonde hair, green eyes and killer charm was something Alec embodied. How could she not have known? The weird way he had been avoiding her at work. Then there were the cryptic remarks and the strange behavior. Max was suddenly aware of the intimate position that their bodies were in. She tried to push herself up but his arms tightened around her. She looked into his eyes. They had un-spilt tears in them.

Alec had tried to mentally prepare himself for this moment yet he couldn't have imagined this pain. She was trying to get away from him and his hands couldn't let her. He was figuratively dying and he couldn't let her go. Not when he needed her so much. "_Don't_." Alec whispered, not able to come up with a reason.

Max's heart broke when he looked at her with tears in his eyes. Now all of his protesting and worrying made sense to her. He was so sure that she would hate him that he was petrified. She remembered him saying that he loved her and that he had for a long time. Now he thought that she was rejecting him. He looked so sad and forlorn that Max's eyes welled up with tears as well. She then knew exactly how she felt and what to say.

"The other day I forgot to tell you something important." She began in a teary voice. "It was about someone else I know."

Alec wondered what she was talking about.

"He is the most pompous, arrogant, troublesome, troublemaking, lying, annoying jerk that I have ever met. I gave him his name and he gave my secret away." Max cleared her throat so that her voice wasn't breaking on every word.

Alec knew this was coming. The insulting. She remembered not telling him about himself the last time they had met -at the third event. Now she was telling him exactly what she thought of him. He wondered why she was crying though. She should be enjoying herself.

He wanted her tears to go away so badly. He raised one of his hands that was resting on her back so that he could wipe away the tears that were falling down her cheeks. He was surprised when she gently took hold of his forearm with one of her hands. Then she smiled and carried on with her insults.

"He's lied and cheated and crept his way into my life. Ever since I've known him we've fought like cat and dog" Max laughed slightly "-well, cat and cat. He's a pain in my ass and totally unreliable."

Alec closed his eyes momentarily at her cutting words.

Max winced at his expression but carried on with her little speech so that she could get to the point. "He's there when I need him." She said with a slow, gentle tone. Alec opened his eyes again. "He's a great person underneath the mask he wears." At that Alec and Max shared an ironic smile. Then Max's face turned extremely serious and tears filled her eyes again. Not because she was sad but because she was overwhelmed with the rightness of this moment. "I've never loved someone so much in my life."

Alec blinked, shocked. "What?" He said uncomprehendingly.

"_I love you too, Alec_." Max whispered.

Now it was Alec's turn to cry. For the first time in his life he was crying because he was happy. He sat up suddenly, shocking Max with his sudden movement, and pulled her up with him. He pulled her towards him and hugged her to him with maximum transgenic force again.

Max's face turned from shock to joy as she returned the hug with the same force. This time they understood where the strength from the other came from. They both cried happily at their new found love, knowing how right this was.

**END**

A/N: This was such a spontaneous story for me. I just got the idea and was writing non-stop for a solid week (excepting school) and then I started to slow my pace a little when I started uploading chapters.

FACTS about this story:

-I was initially going to wait until I had finished writing it completely and then ration out each chapter once I was done but I couldn't wait any longer by the time I was halfway through the fourth chapter.

-I listened to a few main songs while I wrote this (because I love to write while listening to music) and now these songs remind me of this story:

She's a Bitch-Missy Elliot

Sock it to me-Missy Elliot ft. Da Brat

Bounce-Timbaland ft. , Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake

Hit Em Wit Da Hee-Missy Elliot ft. Lil Kim and Mocha

One Minute Man-Missy Elliot ft. Ludacris (this song is actually in the mermaid episode of DA)

Dance Dance-Fall out boy

OMG-Usher ft. Will. (especially this one)

One-Swedish House Mafia ft. Pharrell

I'd like to thank my best friend in the whole world, Amarra Singh, who came up with the name of my story and the chapter names.

**If this story gave you butterflies please tell me in a review!**


End file.
